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Sunday, November 11, 2018

November kayaking

A kayaking overnighter to Konungskär in November.

I've had Konungskär on the list for a November overnighter by kayak for a few years now, and this weekend it happened. The date had been decided with Jukka and Esko about two months earlier, but there is always the risk of poor weather in November. This time, however, the weather was ok, though there was no hope of seeing the sun. A little harder wind for the return on Sunday, about 12 m/s wind was forecasted, but nothing we couldn't manage. And the good thing with a little wind is that most recreational boats stay away from the water, not that there are many left in November anymore.

We started half past one from Korpoström, me, Esko, Jukka and Pete.

There was a wind of around 6-7 m/s, which isn't bad. Not even direct headwind is too hard.

The crossing to Stora Hästö.

Stora Hästö was a rather nice place, which I must return to next summer.

After Stora Hästö we went directly to Konungskär.

A total of 10 km and maybe 1h 40 min of paddling before arriving at Konungskär, one hour before sunset.

We quickly unloaded the kayaks and change into ordinary clothes from the drysuits and went to look at the island before it would get too dark.

The small island is a harsh place, which still supported a family of up to 11 persons some 150 years ago. I don't think anyone living now can quite comprehend the difficulty of the life in the archipelago at that time.

The wilderness hut is one of the nicest one I've ever been in. It is very airy and cozy and the wood stove heats the interior surprisingly well. I had been there three times before, but never outside the summer season. With the sun being up (but rarely visible) for less than eight hours currently, places like these are really nice for kayakers.

We started with mulled wine and ginger snaps with Roquefort cheese.

After tortillas as main course, Jukka made some Russian style pancakes.

Playing Afrikan tähti (The Star of Africa), probably the most sold board game in Finland since it came out in 1951.

We went to sleep around 11 in the evening. Despite it being rather windy, the hut was warm through the night. I got up a little before seven and put a new fire in the stove.

The morning started with sparkling wine (nonalcoholic), since it was after all Father's day in Finland. Then followed an ordinary breakfast and packing the kayaks and cleaning the hut. The day was as grey as Saturday.

We started paddling a little before nine.

The wind was now a little harder, maybe around 10 m/s, but not the forecasted 12 m/s. The wind came from SE, but for the most part we had some shelter for it.

Exploring some smaller islands.

Good speed without actually paddling.

Back at Korpoström a little over ten in the morning.

We pack everything into the kayaks quite efficiently and had good luck with the ferries and were home before one in the afternoon the celebrate Father's Day.